Refrigerator appliance and a method for defrosting a food item

ABSTRACT

A method for defrosting a food item within a freezer chamber of a refrigerator appliance is provided. The method includes positioning the food item within a defrosting chamber of an insulated housing within the freezer chamber of the refrigerator appliance, initiating a defrosting operation and activating a heater during the defrosting operation in order to heat the food item within the defrosting chamber. A related refrigerator appliance is also provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter relates generally to refrigerator appliancesand methods for defrosting food items therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Several methods are presently available to defrost frozen food items.However, the presently available methods to defrost food items generallysuffer from certain drawbacks. As an example, frozen food items can beleft on a countertop for an extended period of time in order to thaw thefood items. While exposed to ambient conditions on the countertop, thefood items can enter a food “danger zone” and harmful bacteria can growwithin the food items. As another example, frozen food items can beheated in a microwave in order to thaw the food items. Heating the fooditems within the microwave can also partially cook the food items andnegatively affect a taste of the food items. As yet another example,frozen food items can be placed within a fresh food chamber of arefrigerator appliance in order to thaw the food items. Defrosting fooditems within the fresh food chamber can be time consuming andinconvenient.

Accordingly, a method for conveniently defrosting frozen food itemswould be useful. In addition, a method for quickly defrosting frozenfood items would be useful.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present subject matter provides a method for defrosting a food itemwithin a freezer chamber of a refrigerator appliance. The methodincludes positioning the food item within a defrosting chamber of aninsulated housing within the freezer chamber of the refrigeratorappliance, initiating a defrosting operation and activating a heaterduring the defrosting operation in order to heat the food item withinthe defrosting chamber. A related refrigerator appliance is alsoprovided. Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be setforth in part in the following description, or may be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned through practice of the invention.

In a first exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator appliance is provided.The refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet that defines a fresh foodchamber and a freezer chamber. An insulated housing is disposed withinthe freezer chamber of the cabinet. The insulated housing defines adefrosting chamber therein. A heater is positioned adjacent theinsulated housing. A controller is in operative communication with theheater. The controller is configured for operating the heater during adefrosting operation in order to heat the defrosting chamber of theinsulated housing.

In a second exemplary embodiment, a method for defrosting a food itemwithin a freezer chamber of a refrigerator appliance is provided. Themethod includes positioning the food item within a defrosting chamber ofan insulated housing. The insulated housing is disposed within thefreezer chamber of the refrigerator appliance. The method also includesinitiating a defrosting operation and activating a heater during thedefrosting operation in order to heat the food item within thedefrosting chamber.

In a third exemplary embodiment, a refrigerator appliance is provided.The refrigerator appliance includes a cabinet that defines a fresh foodchamber and a freezer chamber. The refrigerator appliance also includesmeans for defrosting food items within the freezer chamber of thecabinet.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdescription and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrateembodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serveto explain the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including thebest mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is setforth in the specification, which makes reference to the appendedfigures.

FIG. 1 provides a front, elevation view of a refrigerator applianceaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 2 provides a front, elevation view of certain components of theexemplary refrigerator appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of an insulated housing of theexemplary refrigerator appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 provides a schematic view of certain components of the exemplaryrefrigerator appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for defrosting a food item according to anexemplary embodiment of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention,one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Eachexample is provided by way of explanation of the invention, notlimitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit ofthe invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as partof one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a stillfurther embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present inventioncovers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

FIG. 1 provides a front, elevation view of a refrigerator appliance 100according to an exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. FIG.2 provides a front, elevation view of certain components of refrigeratorappliance 100. Refrigerator appliance 100 defines a vertical directionV, a lateral direction L and a transverse direction T (FIG. 3). Thevertical direction V, lateral direction L and transverse direction T aremutually perpendicular and form an orthogonal direction system.Refrigerator appliance 100 extends between an upper portion 101 and alower portion 102 along the vertical direction V. Refrigerator appliance100 also extends between a first side portion 105 and a second sideportion 106 along the lateral direction L.

Refrigerator appliance 100 includes a cabinet or housing 120 thatdefines chilled chambers for receipt of food items for storage. Inparticular, refrigerator appliance 100 defines fresh food chamber 122 atupper portion 101 of refrigerator appliance 100 and a freezer chamber124 arranged below fresh food chamber 122 on the vertical direction V,e.g., at lower portion 102 of refrigerator appliance 100. As such,refrigerator appliance 100 is generally referred to as a bottom mountrefrigerator appliance. However, using the teachings disclosed herein,one of skill in the art will understand that the present subject mattermay be used with other types of refrigerator appliances (e.g.,side-by-side style or top mount style) or a freezer appliance as well.Consequently, the description set forth herein is for illustrativepurposes only and is not intended to limit the present subject matter toany particular chilled chamber arrangement.

Refrigerator doors 126 and 128 are rotatably hinged to an edge ofhousing 120 for accessing fresh food compartment 122. In particular,refrigerator doors 126 and 128 are rotatably mounted to housing 120 atan opening 121 that permits access to fresh food chamber 122. A freezerdoor 130 is arranged below refrigerator doors 126 and 128 for accessingfreezer chamber 124. Freezer door 130 is coupled to a freezer drawer(not shown) slidably mounted within freezer chamber 124.

Refrigerator appliance 100 also includes a dispensing assembly 110 fordispensing liquid water and/or ice. Dispensing assembly 110 includes adispenser 114 positioned on or mounted to an exterior portion ofrefrigerator appliance 100, e.g., on refrigerator door 126. Dispenser114 includes a discharging outlet 134 for accessing ice and liquidwater. An actuating mechanism 132, shown as a paddle, is mounted belowdischarging outlet 134 for operating dispenser 114. In alternativeexemplary embodiments, any suitable actuating mechanism may be used tooperate dispenser 114. For example, dispenser 114 can include a sensor(such as an ultrasonic sensor) or a button rather than the paddle. Auser interface panel 136 is provided for controlling the mode ofoperation. For example, user interface panel 136 includes a plurality ofuser inputs 137, such as a water dispensing button (not labeled) and anice-dispensing button (not labeled), for selecting a desired mode ofoperation such as crushed or non-crushed ice. User interface panel 136also includes a display 139 for presenting information to a user ofrefrigerator appliance 100. User inputs 137 may be any suitable userinputs. For example, user inputs 137 include buttons, switches,touchscreens, voice inputs, scanners, etc.

Discharging outlet 134 and actuating mechanism 132 are an external partof dispenser 114 and are mounted in a dispenser recess 138 defined by adispenser body 166 of dispenser 114. Dispenser body 166 is mounted torefrigerator door 126, e.g., at an outside surface of refrigerator door126. Dispenser recess 138 is positioned at a predetermined elevationconvenient for a user to access ice or water and enabling the user toaccess ice without the need to bend-over and without the need to accessfreezer chamber 124. In the exemplary embodiment, dispenser recess 138is positioned at a level that approximates the chest level of a user. Anice maker (not shown) may be positioned within housing 120 or on one ofrefrigerator doors 126 and 128 to provide ice cubes or nuggets todispenser recess 138 when actuating mechanism 128 is operated.

Turning now to FIG. 2, refrigerator appliance 100 includes variousstorage components for assisting with storing food items within freshfood chamber 122 and freezer chamber 124. In particular, refrigeratorappliance 100 includes shelves 140 and a drawer 144 within fresh foodchamber 122 and bins 142 within freezer chamber 124. Food items may bedisposed within and/or on shelves 140, bins 142 and/or drawer 144 inorder to assist with storing such food items within refrigeratorappliance 100.

Refrigerator appliance 100 also includes an insulated housing 150.Insulated housing 150 is disposed or positioned within freezer chamber124 of housing 120. Insulated housing 150 defines a defrosting chamber151 therein. As discussed in greater detail below, a user ofrefrigerator appliance 100 may place a frozen food item withindefrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150 and activate certainfeatures of refrigerator appliance 100 in order to defrost the frozenfood item within defrosting chamber 151. Thus, refrigerator appliance100 includes features for defrosting frozen food item within freezerchamber 124 (e.g., within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150).

FIG. 3 provides a perspective view of insulated housing 150 ofrefrigerator appliance 100. As may be seen in FIG. 3, insulated housing150 extends between a top portion 152 and a bottom portion 154, e.g.,along the vertical direction V. A top wall 155 of insulated housing 150is positioned at or adjacent top portion 152 of insulated housing 150,and a bottom wall 156 of insulated housing 150 is positioned at oradjacent bottom portion 154 of insulated housing 150. Thus, top andbottom walls 155 and 156 of insulated housing 150 may be spaced apartfrom each other, e.g., along the vertical direction V. Insulated housing150 also includes side walls 157 that extend between top and bottomwalls 155 and 156 of insulated housing 150, e.g., along the verticaldirection V. Top wall 155, bottom wall 156 and side walls 157 may assistwith defining defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150. Insulatedhousing 150 also includes a door 158 that permits selective access todefrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150. Door 158 may be clearin order to permit a user of refrigerator appliance 100 to viewdefrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150 and food items therein.

Insulated housing 150 (e.g., top wall 155, bottom wall 156 and sidewalls 157 of insulated housing 150) is insulated such that defrostingchamber 151 of insulated housing 150 and food items positioned thereinmay be heated, e.g., without significantly heating freezer chamber 124of housing 120. As an example, top wall 155, bottom wall 156 and/or sidewalls 157 of insulated housing 150 may include vacuum insulation panels,insulating foam, fiberglass insulation, etc. to assist with insulatinginsulated housing 150. Thus, defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150 may be thermally isolated from freezer chamber 124 of housing 120with insulated housing 150, and heat transfer between defrosting chamber151 of insulated housing 150 and freezer chamber 124 of housing 120 maybe limited or hindered by insulated housing 150.

Insulated housing 150 also includes a damper 164, e.g., positioned attop portion 152 of insulated housing 150. As will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, damper 164 is selectively adjustable between an openposition and a closed position. In the closed position, damper 164hinders or prevents fluid flow through damper 164. Conversely, damper164 permits or facilitates fluid flow through damper 164 in the openposition. Thus, air may from freezer chamber 124 may flow through damper164 into defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150 and vice versawith damper 164 in the open position while damper 164 hinders orprevents air from flowing between freezer chamber 124 and defrostingchamber 151 in the closed position. Adjusting damper 164 between theopen and closed positions assists with selectively permitting fluid flowbetween freezer chamber 124 and defrosting chamber 151. As will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, selectively actuating damper 164may limit heat transfer between freezer chamber 124 and defrostingchamber 151. Damper 164 may be manually actuated or may include a motor(not shown) for actuating damper 164 between the open and closedpositions.

FIG. 4 provides a schematic view of certain components of refrigeratorappliance 100. As may be seen in FIG. 4, refrigerator appliance 100includes a controller 160. Operation of the refrigerator appliance 100may be regulated by controller 160. Thus, controller 160 is operativelycoupled to various components of refrigerator appliance 100. Forexample, controller 160 is in operative communication with userinterface panel 136 and actuating mechanism 132. User interface panel136 provides selections for user manipulation of the operation ofrefrigerator appliance 100 such as e.g., selections between whole orcrushed ice, chilled water, and/or other options as well. In response touser manipulation of the user interface panel 136, controller 160operates various components of the refrigerator appliance 100.

Controller 160 may include a memory and one or more microprocessors,CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessorsoperable to execute programming instructions or micro-control codeassociated with operation of refrigerator appliance 100. The memory mayrepresent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such asROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programminginstructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate componentfrom the processor or may be included onboard within the processor.Alternatively, controller 160 may be constructed without using amicroprocessor, e.g., using a combination of discrete analog and/ordigital logic circuitry (such as switches, amplifiers, integrators,comparators, flip-flops, AND gates, and the like) to perform controlfunctionality instead of relying upon software.

Controller 160 may be positioned in a variety of locations throughoutrefrigerator appliance 100. For example, controller 160 may be locatedwithin a control panel area of refrigerator door 126. In such anembodiment, input/output (“I/O”) signals may be routed betweencontroller 160 and various operational components of refrigeratorappliance 100. As an example, the various operational components ofrefrigerator appliance 100 may be in communication with controller 160via one or more signal lines or shared communication busses.

As may be seen in FIG. 4, refrigerator appliance 100 also includes aweight sensor 162. Weight sensor 162 may be positioned at or adjacentbottom portion 154 of insulated housing 150 and mounted to insulatedhousing 150. For example, weight sensor 162 may be positioned at andmounted to bottom wall 156 of insulated housing 150. Weight sensor 162is configured and/or positioned for weighing food items disposed withindefrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150, e.g., on bottom wall156 of insulated housing 150. Controller 160 is in operativecommunication with weight sensor 162. Thus, weight sensor 162 may signalcontroller 160, and the signal from weight sensor 162 may correspond toor indicate the weight of the food item within defrosting chamber 151 ofinsulated housing 150. Thus, controller 160 may be configured forweighing food items within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150 with weight sensor 162. Weight sensor 162 may be any suitablesensor. For example, weight sensor 162 may be a transducer, such as aload cell, a strain gauge, a linear variable differential transformer,etc.

Refrigerator appliance 100 also includes a fan 166, such as an axial fanor centrifugal fan. As an example, fan 166 may be positioned at oradjacent defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150 and mounted toinsulated housing 150. Thus, fan 166 may be configured for circulatingair within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150, e.g., inorder to convectively heat food items therein. As another example, fan166 may be positioned adjacent a duct 146 (FIG. 2). Duct 146 may extendbetween fresh food chamber 122 and defrosting chamber 151 of insulatedhousing 150. Thus, fan 166 may be configured for drawing air from freshfood chamber 122 to defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150,e.g., in order to assist with heating food items within defrostingchamber 151 of insulated housing 150. Controller 160 is in operativecommunication with fan 166. Thus, controller 160 may selectively operatefan 166 in order to move air with fan 166.

Refrigerator appliance 100 further includes a heater 168. Heater 168 maybe positioned at or adjacent defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150 and mounted to insulated housing 150. Thus, heater 168 may beconfigured and operable to heat defrosting chamber 151 of insulatedhousing 150. In addition, food items within defrosting chamber 151 ofinsulated housing 150 may be heated with heater 168, e.g., in order tothaw the food items. Controller 160 is in operative communication withheater 168. Thus, controller 160 may selectively operate heater 168,e.g., during a defrosting operation of refrigerator appliance 100, inorder to heat defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150 withheater 168. Heater 168 may be any suitable heater. For example, heater168 may be an electric resistance heating element, a heat pump, amicrowave emitting element, an induction heating element, etc.

A temperature sensor 170 is configured for measuring a temperature ofinsulated housing 150, e.g., defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150. Temperature sensor 170 can be positioned at any suitable locationwithin refrigerator appliance 100. For example, temperature sensor 170may be positioned within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150or may be mounted to insulated housing 150 outside of defrosting chamber151 of insulated housing 150. When mounted to insulated housing 150outside of defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150, temperaturesensor 170 may be configured for indirectly measuring the temperature ofair within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing 150. For example,temperature sensor 170 may measure the temperature of insulated housing150 and correlate the temperature of insulated housing 150 to thetemperature of air within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150. Temperature sensor 170 may be any suitable temperature sensor. Forexample, temperature sensor 170 may be a thermocouple or a thermistor.

Controller 160 may also be in operative communication with damper 164.Controller 160 may actuate damper 164 between the open and closedpositions. As an example, controller 160 may operate a motor (not shown)of damper 164 to actuate damper 164 between the open and closedpositions.

As may be seen in FIG. 4, refrigerator appliance 100 also includes anetwork connection or interface 172. Network interface 172 is configuredfor establishing communication with a network device 176 via a network174. Thus, controller 160 may communicate with network device 176 vianetwork interface 172 and network 174. In addition, a user ofrefrigerator appliance 100 may utilize network device 176 to remotelyinput commands to controller 160 and regulate operation of refrigeratorappliance 100. Network interface 172 of refrigerator appliance 100 mayinclude any suitable components for interfacing with one more networks,such as network 174. For example, network interface 172 of refrigeratorappliance 100 may include transmitters, receivers, ports, controllers,antennas, or other suitable components.

The network 174 may be any type of communications network, such as alocal area network (e.g. intranet), wide area network (e.g. Internet),or some combination thereof. The network 174 can also include a directconnection between refrigerator appliance 100 and network device 176. Ingeneral, communication between refrigerator appliance 100 and networkdevice 176 may be carried via network interface 172 using any type ofwired and/or wireless connection, using a variety of communicationprotocols (e.g. TCP/IP, HTTP), encodings or formats (e.g. HTML, XML),and/or protection schemes (e.g. VPN, secure HTTP, SSL). In certainexemplary embodiments, network 174 may be a cellular network, andnetwork device 176 may include a cellular phone, such as a smartphone.In other exemplary embodiments, network device 176 may be a tablet, alaptop, a wearable wireless computer device, etc.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for defrosting a food item according toan exemplary embodiment of the present subject matter. Method 500 may beused to defrost food items in any suitable refrigerator appliance. Forexample, method 500 may be used in or with refrigerator appliance 100(FIG. 1), e.g., to defrost food items within freezer chamber 124.Controller 160 may be programmed or configured for implementing method500. Utilizing method 500, food items may be defrosted, e.g., withoutremoving the food items from a freezer chamber of the associatedrefrigerator appliance.

At step 510, a food item is positioned or disposed with defrostingchamber 151 of insulated housing 150. As an example, a user ofrefrigerator appliance 100 may place a frozen food item, such aschicken, soup, etc., within defrosting chamber 151 of insulated housing150 at step 510. As discussed above, insulated housing 150 is positionedor disposed within freezer chamber 124. Thus, a temperature ofdefrosting chamber 151 may be about equal to (e.g., equal to) atemperature of freezer chamber 124 at step 510. In such a manner, thefood item may remain frozen within defrosting chamber 151 of insulatedhousing 150, e.g., until a defrosting operation is started at a latertime.

At step 520, a defrosting operation is initiated or started. As anexample, a user of refrigerator appliance 100 may initiate thedefrosting operation at step 520 with the user interface panel 136.Thus, the user of refrigerator appliance 100 may initiate the defrostingoperation locally at the refrigerator appliance 100 during step 520. Asanother example, the user of refrigerator appliance 100 may utilizenetwork device 176 to initiate the defrosting operation at step 520. Inparticular, the user may operate network device 176 such that networkdevice 176 generates and transmits a defrosting operation initiationcommand to network interface 172 and controller 160 via network 174 atstep 520. Thus, the user may utilize his or her smartphone (in exemplaryembodiments where network device 176 is a smartphone) in order toinitiate the defrosting operation remotely from the refrigeratorappliance 100 during step 520.

In certain exemplary embodiments, a duration or period of the defrostingoperation is also established at step 520, e.g., by controller 160. Forexample, a user of refrigerator appliance 100 may utilize the userinterface panel 136 or network device 176 to manually input or establishthe period of the defrosting operation to controller 160 at step 520. Asanother example, controller 160 may establish the weight of the fooditem within defrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150 with weightsensor 162 and establish the period of the defrosting operation based atleast in part on the weight of the food item at step 520. As will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the period of the defrostingoperation may be directly proportional to the weight of the food itemwithin defrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150. For example,heavier food items may require longer to defrost than lighter fooditems, or a temperature of the defrosting operation may need to beincreased in order to defrost heavy food items within the same period aslighter food items.

In certain exemplary embodiments, a category or type of the food itemwithin the defrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150 is alsoestablished at step 520. For example, a user of refrigerator appliance100 may utilize the user interface panel 136 or network device 176 tomanually input or establish the category of the food item within thedefrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150 to controller 160 at step520. In particular, the user may identify the food item within thedefrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150 as a meat, such aschicken, beef or fish, a soup, bread, a casserole, etc. Based upon theidentity or category of the food item within the defrosting volume 151of insulated housing 150, controller 160 may establish the period of thedefrosting operation. As will be understood by those skilled in the art,the period of the defrosting operation may be directly proportional tothe identity or category of the food item within the defrosting volume151 of insulated housing 150. For example, beef may require longer thanchicken to defrost, or a temperature of the defrosting operation mayneed to be increased in order to defrost beef within the same period aschicken.

Method 500 may also include establishing or ascertaining a desiredcompletion time for the defrosting operation, e.g., at or before step520. For example, a user of refrigerator appliance 100 may utilize theuser interface panel 136 or network device 176 to manually input orestablish the desired completion time for the defrosting operation tocontroller 160. Controller 160 may be configured or programmed toinitiate the defrosting operation at step 520 such that the defrostingoperation is complete and the food item within the defrosting volume 151of insulated housing 150 is suitably defrosted by the desired completiontime for the defrosting operation, e.g., prior to a time a user of therefrigerator appliance 100 would like to start cooking the food itemwithin the defrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150.

At step 530, various components of refrigerator appliance 100 areactivated or operated, e.g., to heat and defrost the food item withindefrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150. As an example,controller 160 may activate heater 168 at step 530. Thus, heater 168 maybe operated to heat the food item within defrosting chamber 151 at step530. As another example, controller 160 may activate fan 166 at step530, e.g., to circulate air within defrosting chamber 151 and/or drawair from fresh food chamber 122 into defrosting chamber 151. Thus, fan166 may assist with heating the food item within defrosting chamber 151at step 530. As yet another example, controller 160 may close damper 164at step 530. Thus, damper 164 may hinder or prevent air from flowingfrom freezer chamber 124 into defrosting chamber 151 and vice versa atstep 530.

Prior to step 530, a temperature of defrosting chamber 151 may be aboutequal to a temperature of freezer chamber 124, e.g., due to damper 164being open, fan 166 being off and/or heater 168 being deactivated.Conversely, the temperature of defrosting chamber 151 may be greaterthan the temperature of freezer chamber 124 during the defrostingoperation, e.g., due to damper 164 being closed, fan 166 being on and/orheater 168 being activated. In such a manner, the food item withindefrosting volume 151 of insulated housing 150 may be defrosted duringthe defrosting operation and stored at a suitable temperature prior tothe defrosting operation.

At step 540, controller 160 determines whether the defrosting operationis complete. As an example, controller 160 may determine that thedefrosting operation is complete if the period of the defrostingoperation has elapsed. The defrosting operation is continued until thedefrosting operation is complete at step 540. When the defrostingoperation is complete, controller 160 alerts the user of refrigeratorappliance 100 at step 550. The user may be alerted using any suitablemethod or mechanism at step 550. As an example, controller 160 maypresent a message on display 139 of refrigerator appliance 100 at step550 to alert the user that the defrosting operation is complete. Asanother example, controller 160 may transmit a message to network device176 via network interface 172 and network 174 at step 550 to alert theuser that the defrosting operation is complete.

Utilizing method 500, the food item may be positioned within insulatedhousing 150 at any suitable time. Further, the food item may be storedwithin insulated housing 150 at a suitable temperature (e.g., below thefreezing temperature of water) until the defrosting operation isinitiated. During the defrosting operation, the food item is defrostedwithin the insulated housing 150, e.g., without significantly heatingfreezer chamber 124 due to insulated housing 150. Thus, the user neednot remove the food item from freezer chamber 124 in order to defrostthe food item.

Method 500 may also include other steps form alerting or informing theuser of refrigerator appliance 100 regarding the status of thedefrosting operation. For example, method 500 may include steps foralerting or informing the user of refrigerator appliance 100 regarding aremaining time for the period of the defrosting operation. The remainingtime may be presented on display 139 of refrigerator appliance 100 ormay be transmitted to network device 176 via network interface 172 andnetwork 174.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator appliance, comprising: a cabinetdefining a fresh food chamber and a freezer chamber; an insulatedhousing disposed within the freezer chamber of the cabinet, theinsulated housing defining a defrosting chamber therein; a heaterpositioned adjacent the insulated housing; and a controller in operativecommunication with the heater, the controller configured for operatingthe heater during a defrosting operation in order to heat the defrostingchamber of the insulated housing.
 2. The refrigerator appliance of claim1, further comprising a fan positioned adjacent the insulated housing,the controller in operative communication with the fan and furtherconfigured for working the fan in order to circulate air within thedefrosting chamber of the insulated housing during the defrostingoperation.
 3. The refrigerator appliance of claim 2, further comprisinga duct extending between the fresh food chamber of the cabinet and thedefrosting chamber of the insulated housing, the fan positioned at theduct such that the fan draws air from the fresh food chamber of thecabinet to the defrosting chamber of the insulated housing during thedefrosting operation.
 4. The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, whereinthe insulated housing includes a damper, the damper selectively disposedbetween the freezer chamber of the cabinet and the defrosting chamber ofthe insulated housing, the controller being in operative communicationwith the damper and further configured for actuating the damper betweenan open configuration and a closed configuration, the controlleradjusting the damper to the closed configuration during the defrostingoperation.
 5. The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, further comprisinga network connection, the controller in operative with the networkconnection and further configured for receiving a defrosting operationinitiation command from a network device via the network connection. 6.The refrigerator appliance of claim 1, further comprising a door mountedto the cabinet and a user interface mounted to the door, the controllerin operative communication with the user interface and furtherconfigured for receiving a defrosting operation initiation command fromthe user interface.
 7. The refrigerator appliance of claim 8, whereinthe controller is further configured for receiving a defrostingoperation time interval from the user interface.
 8. The refrigeratorappliance of claim 1, further comprising a weight sensor positionedadjacent the insulated housing, the controller in operativecommunication with the weight sensor and further configured for weighinga food item within the defrosting chamber of the insulated housing andestablishing a defrosting operation time interval based at least in parton the weight of the food item within the defrosting chamber of theinsulated housing.
 9. A method for defrosting a food item within afreezer chamber of a refrigerator appliance, comprising: positioning thefood item within a defrosting chamber of an insulated housing, theinsulated housing disposed within the freezer chamber of therefrigerator appliance; initiating a defrosting operation; andactivating a heater during the defrosting operation in order to heat thefood item within the defrosting chamber.
 10. The method of claim 9,further comprising establishing a period of the defrosting operation,said step of establishing comprising inputting the period of thedefrosting operation on a user interface of the refrigerator appliance.11. The method of claim 9, further comprising establishing a period ofthe defrosting operation, said step of establishing comprising weighingthe food item within the defrosting volume of the insulated housing andestablishing the period of the defrosting operation based at least inpart on the weight of the food item.
 12. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising establishing a period of the defrosting operation, said stepof establishing comprising determining a category for the food itemwithin the defrosting chamber of the insulated housing and establishingthe period of the defrosting operation based at least in part on thecategory of the food item.
 13. The method of claim 9, further comprisingclosing a damper of the insulated housing during the defrostingoperation, the damper of the insulated housing being open prior to saidstep of closing.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein a temperature of thedefrosting chamber is about a temperature of the freezer chamber priorto said step of initiating and the temperature of the defrosting chamberis greater than the temperature of the freezer chamber during at least aportion of the defrosting operation.
 15. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising circulating air within the defrosting chamber of theinsulating housing with a fan of the refrigerator appliance during thedefrosting operation.
 16. The method of claim 9, wherein said step ofinitiating comprises transmitting a defrosting operation initiationcommand to the refrigerator appliance from a network device.
 17. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising determining a desired completiontime for the defrosting operation, wherein said step of initiating thedefrosting operation comprises initiating the defrosting operation suchthat the defrosting operation is complete by the desired completion timefor the defrosting operation.
 18. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising notifying a user of the refrigerator appliance when thedefrosting operation is complete.
 19. The method of claim 9, furthercomprising displaying a remaining time of the defrosting operation to auser of the refrigerator appliance during the defrosting operation. 20.A refrigerator appliance, comprising: a cabinet defining a fresh foodchamber and a freezer chamber; and means for defrosting food itemswithin the freezer chamber of the cabinet.